Rubbish, that nut didn't look tight at all! :lol:

Great stuff, love the video, definately more of those please. I did laugh at the "try not to cross thread the bolt which is my ususal party trick" comment :lol: :lol:

:beer:

It's all in hand but I was going to use Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh! :wink:

Tks for the nice comments Andy, really appreciated. I'm a lover of all things early VW, in all styles, so what you've achieved with this car so far is no mean feat and the car and your efforts certainly deserve to be recognised.

Hope to park along side you somewhere in the future. :wink: :beer:

I lifted the back of my bug off the floor pulling upwards on a bar when I took my rear hub nuts off. Like yours mine had never been off. (Or certainly no signs of them being off)

Thanks a lot for posting. Love the info and the video!

I think the torque master tools sales are going to go up. I’m going to get myself one I think :):beer:

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Wow.... :oops: didn't realise that was you!

Would love to meet up for a beer and a chat, for sure! :beer:

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Thumbs up for the vid Andrew, this thread just gets better and better.

It's me!

Looking forward to it.

Anymore updates? I enjoy checking in on this thread just as much as others have told me they do on mine, so come on...more please! :wink:

Sorry for the lack of updates this week guys, I'm in the middle of a 12 day run without a day off work and have just worked all weekend, so haven't had much time free, and for reasons too boring to discuss here, I've had to strip out and re-wire the electrics in the garage.

Whilst I was at it, as well as adding a few more wall sockets, I took the oppertunity to add a 'few' more lights.

I always find it too dim in the garage at night, so thought I'd take the bull by the horns and upgrade my illumination with a stack of new high power fluorescent tubes in rows and squares all over the garage ceiling!

I had no idea how bright it was going to be, but am pleased to report that my efforts were not wasted, and my tan is coming along nicely...

From the garden...



From the driveway...



It really is as bright as it looks - my auto darkening welding helment is permanently 'on'....

Hopefully I'll have a small update and the next episode of LT-TV later on...

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😎

And the results of the acid/vinegar test are in!

I waited a full week, then inspected the heater boxes that had been soaking away in the corner of my garage and I;ve got to say, I'm delighted with the results!

Here they are fresh out fo the mixture...







I washed them in the jet fuel to wash off any traces of acid, then gave them a quick brush up with a pan scourer which very quickly and easily brought them up like this...





Amazing!

I've still got to scrub the other part of the heater box, but can report that they are in exactly the same condition - I really am chuffed.


I must say though that the smell that hit me in the face when I lifted the lid of the bin was horriffic - nearly knocked me out!

Anyway - I thought this might make a neat little video clip, so with popcorn at the ready, tune in to the next installment from LT-TV (live from the garage)

Cheers!






.

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i wish i was this brave,normally when i dismantle things they end up staying dismantled!

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Great work as always. That garage is seriously bright, thought i may have to turn my screen contrast down:lol:

Had another quick session in the garage tonight, but to be honest, all these 1am late nights combined with no days off from work is catching up with me, so I quit before it got too late and I made a mistake!

I spent some time cleaning up the hardware for the heater boxes after their acid bath. This involved neutralising them with water, dunking them in the jet fuel to stop rust setting in, them giving them a gentle soft brass wire brush, then a dunk in some thinners to thoroughly clean them, them a spray with some WD40 just to keep them fresh until I finally fit them.

They came out as well as expected - just to think, this is 53 year old hardware that normally you'd just break off with a spanner it was so crusty and horrible...







I then turned my attention to the other side of the heater boxes that houses the J tube part of the exhaust. I;d not cleaned these up since removal from the acid bath, other than a dunk in the jet fuel to stop them rusting.

I'd not touched them as I wanted to thoroughly inspect the ends of the exhasut part to see if they were as good as they looked.

Whilst I was amazed at how good the curved section is, the ends near the bottom really had rusted thin and in places, pin holes had started to show - still, not bad for a 53 year old exhasut!!!





In this next pic, you can see some of the holes in the pipe...





At this point, I decided that given that I'd saved the original heater boxes, and I'd used a genuine NOS silencer, I felt it would be a shame to re-use these pipes which really are beyond service.

I'd made this decision the other night to be honest, but tonight confirmed that it was the right decision to replace the J-tubes with a nice new set of correct items!

Check these babies out!!!





Absolutely perfect fit and original thickness material and exhaust flange. I had to re-mortgage my house for them and I was hoping that they'd be good, and I can happily report that they are absolutely superb!





I'll carefully cut off the old pipes and add them to the collection I've got of every single item I have removed from the car, then graft in the new pipes to the original heater boxes for the ultimate solution.

Can;t tell you how pleased I am to be able to re-use the original heater boxes, AND all the original hardware - every single nut, bolt, washer and clip!

That's all for now folks!

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You know what Andy, given the experience you've gained, as a sideline, you should seriously think about starting a Vintage VW engine restoration business.

I'd happily give you a May 55 engine (when I find one :roll: ) for you to do. :wink:

Sorry, which acid do you use to cleaning up the hardware for the heater boxes ?

Lets see if mine runs first...

If it does, i'd be glad to...

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Have a look and re-read from the first page again :wink: ....and then you look at page 24 and there is your answer.8)

Peter

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Vinegar with a small amount of citric acid powder to spice things up.

To be fair, you can do away with the vinegar all together and just use citric acid powder, but you'll need a fair amount of it if for a big tank which I why I used vinegar as it's about 25p per litre from Aldi!!!

For small items and boxes of hardware etc, a citric acid powder / water mis would be fine, and work quicker too.

Citric acid powder can be bought on the high street from Tesco pharmacy and Lloyds Chemists. I phoned round many chemists and they said they didn;t stock it , but could order it - name and address etc in case you are using for cutting drugs....

I only bought it this way as I was on a mission and wanted it there and then, so paid £1.09 for 50mg which is not cheap, but fine for a small mixtures.

Amazon sell 500mg for about £7 delivered which is much more like it.

As for concentration - I know of people who have mixed it very strongly at 3:1 ration (3 parts water) and it will strip it down in about 2 hours, or you could replicate the strength of vinegar and mix it at about 50:1 and wait a week or so....

I prefer the slow and steady approach as it gives you more control over the finished item and lessens the risk of leaving it in too long where the actiual component begins to suffer like it might in a very strong mix.

Hope that helps?

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Wonderfull thanks !! :lol:

Another small milestone reached yesterday with the completion and fitment of the original heater boxes.
I know I’ve got a perfect set of VW NOS items in my pension pot, but the pleasure enjoyed from saving the originals is wonderful!

Before we kick off, a little safety warning – when using a wire brush attachment in a drill, don’t wear latex inspection gloves!





A close one!

Anyway…. Once I’d finished with the brush in the drill, the front part of the heater boxes looked like this.





Next up was to coat the insides with some form of paint. I decided to use exhaust VHT paint which didn’t require baking. I can only report that after welding the J tube and flange on them when they were painted, even after glowing red hot, the paint didn’t come off, so it must be good stuff. The flash on the camera makes it look grey, but it is in fact a dark matt black.





Along with the internal hardware…





Which went back together a treat…





Next job was to fit the exhaust flange to the head so it was in the correct position when welded up.





I then loosely fitted the J tube in the heater boxes and joined the 2 halves together for the first time. The outside is yet to be painted at this stage until after it is welded.







With everything fitted to the engine and exhaust system, it was just a case of making sure the boxes were in the right position and all square, as I’d taken accurate measurements of gaps and clearances before I dismantled them. Then I made a couple of tack welds to the flange and where the pipes exit the boxes. I decided to make the welds where the pipe exits the heater boxes a little more substantial than the flimsy factory tabs which had broken off in a few places anyway.











Once I’d welded the pipe in fully, I then painted the rest of the pipe inside. The large hole where the heater channel fits allowed enough access to paint the blind side of the pipe.





Although the original exhaust flange was only welded on the outside for economy, I decided that whilst I had the opportunity, I’d weld the inside joint also, for strength, longevity and a belt and braces approach to sealing the join. Once I’d welded it, I ground the mating face perfectly flat to remove any distortion that the welding may have induced that might have compromised the gasket seal.







After a final check of the internal hardware and a grease of all the hinges, pivots and links, I assembled them for the final time and then gave them the first of 3 etch primer coats. For the record, the mechanism inside is now smooth as butter!





Once this had fully dried, I gave them 3 coats of satin black which I don’t expect to endure forever, but it is as good as the factory used and will weather in nicely….





Then, using my NOS fitting kit, I fitted them up to the engine at last…. The pipe is in the VHT paint and isn’t as grey in real life – the flash is playing tricks again.





And there we are – both fitted and ready. I really am over the moon with them!





Cooooool

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